3 Key Ways to Sell Tupperware
The path to selling Tupperware successfully is not going to be the one that they teach you. And, do they ever teach you. When I sold Tupperware, joining in on training calls and meetings took almost as much time from my schedule as if I were working a part time job. Between the Facebook parties, book parties and office parties, I was left starving for time with my family and friends. Before I sold Tupperware I had more friends.
Every Tupperware consultant does it. It happens. Don’t feel bad. You aren’t a leach. But, more on that later.
“I’m not going to infringe upon my friends and family. I’m going to go this alone and make my own sales.” Of course, those weekly training calls are highly geared for going after sales and connections with those people already in your life.
Well, so much for that promise to myself.
They won’t say anything. They will just slowly drop away or unfollow you. Then they unfriend you because, well. You just really wanted to be their friend to make sales, didn’t you?
Course Correction!
If you are looking for a product to make and a side income AND it’s a product that you really like as much as I did, it is really one of the better products. It does practically sell itself. You get bonus products at reduced prices. My son even has a box of Tupperware stored away for his first house.
It’s not all bad. Just get grounded with a good game plan ahead of time.
Let me tell you what I learned, what I did wrong, and what I know now.
If you sell Tupperware, then you must know the story of Brownie Wise. I actually love the story of the single mom who, desperate to support her family, showed Mr. Tupper that he was marketing his rubber sealed containers all wrong. She convinced him that she could sell and teach to sell the product at Tupperware Parties from home to home during social hours. I love her creative spark and the way she saw this as an entrepreneurship for the nonworking women of her time. She was a woman ahead of her time, a marketing genius and I only hope she was compensated accordingly. Unfortunately, as times have changed, society has changed, and the ability to earn a decent return on investment has changed. More often than not, Tupperware Consultants who started out with roaring $1000 parties eventually find themselves buying products for themselves just to meet their monthly minimums.
While Facebook parties have been all the rage for the past few years, more and more people are shirking away from their sales events. I get requests regularly for canvas totes, baskets, organizers, jewelry, cleaning supplies. When you are guilted into logging on to these parties, generally you see middle-aged consultants encouraging everybody to buy those products so the hostess can earn her gift. Nothing wreaks, why don’t you love me, like feeling that you have to pay $150 for products that you can find with less stress at large box retailers.
People who want to sell and have a strategy are most likely to succeed at selling Tupperware?
It’s not always who you think. While Tupperware is a fairly expensive item, comparatively, the lower income salesperson will tend to be quite successful. Upper-middle income consultants generally have a harder time breaking into a helpful party train.
Ah, the party train. What is that? That is where one party leads to another, maybe two, or three, which in turn can eventually keep you selling every night of the week. You can always lean on your mom or a friend to get your party train rolling. From there you can roll with it.
I had a party train going for quite some time and was earning quite a few prizes. It was so nice. Then, the worst thing happened. My upline manager changed and I was assigned to a different one. This woman initially came across as exceptional and helpful. Then she wanted to join my parties to further my training. Well, I don’t have to even tell you how this went.
So, that being said, note that the Tupperware atmosphere of signing up new recruits every time you have a party will never lead to your success. It will lead to success of the company. But, if you follow that strategy, you will basically be training your replacement.
Who else succeeds? Younger people, believe it or not, can make some great side income with Tupperware.
They can have parties for club fundraisers and can have their mom’s friends holding parties for them. After all, who doesn’t want to help a young person who is earning money during college? And, honestly, they will learn some skills that will help them with their eventual careers and job interviews.
Also, the people who succeed can be men. Although rare, I have seen some men engage the same selling strategies from any major corporation and do quite well.
So, if you aren’t any of the above, does that mean you can’t sell Tupperware? Absolutely not! I don’t fit any of these categories and I did just fine. But, if you do fit these niches, give selling Tupperware a close look.
The people who can be the most successful are those who also have an online presence.
Having a free personal website on Wix or Weebly will go a long way with helping Tupperware consultants to take and place orders they otherwise would never get. They can also engage in some local social media marketing during the holidays and especially the months prior to Mother’s Day that will definitely have a great ROI.
The days of hiring a webmaster and paying huge fees for online presence are over. Do an online search for free websites and read the reviews to find one that fits you. Set the page to message you directly to allow you to place the orders and contact them for payment.
Most importantly, if you have an online presence, make maintenance of your webpage a part of your daily routine.
Be Pleasantly Sociable and throw parties!
Be a pleasant person who does good for the world and is a joy to be around.
Oh, that part. Yes, I’m an introvert, too. But, I can be pleasant in small spurts, and you can too. Be a party fiend. While the push for online is easy and can often seem like the most efficient, you must have parties of some type. I had the most success by finding a hostess who worked in a busy office. I would bring a homemade cake, baked in the Tupperware microwave baking product, to the break room. I included printouts of the current sales specials with the hostess name printed on them and my business cards. Even better, put the recipe with the associated product on the back of your business cards! Then I gave the order forms to the hostess. Parties like that are great for selling the monthly specials and your hostess has easy access to the customers.
Need to Know
So, now that you know my strategy implementation for selling a multi-level marketing product, here are some things that you definitely should be aware of when you sign up to sell. Knowing them, or even referring back to them as you go, will help you draw up your successful game plan for a side income.
*You will be required to meet monthly minimums to continue to sell. It’s not that hard to do, but staying on to sell does require a commitment.
*The company offers lots of special pricing offers on their Signup Kits. Wait until you find one that suits you. The kit offers change monthly, so find one you like. Your kit will be important for demonstrating products.
*The profit margin technically is 25%. I say technically, because you will have expenses that eat up a portion of that, such as some of the shipping, gas, hostess gifts, their optional $10 monthly website fee, forms, delivery sacks, catalogs, etc. This is why I am a strong proponent of taking orders via the website and payment for shipping directly to them.
*You are responsible for credit card chargebacks. Only take card payments from people you know. You will get lots of emails from scammers and people requesting free products due to hardships. It’s hard not to believe them. But, they are lying. If you ship it to them they turn around and sell it.
*You get great consultant prizes. They have great bonuses and prizes if you love the product.
*Don’t sell your products at cost. You pay taxes based on the retail price. I fell into this routine for special friends and family. And, while I don’t really regret it, because it was my mom and other friends, I also learned it was costing me more money than I was earning.
*You are not allowed to sell their products on EBay or Amazon. I have no idea how they get there. And, I was appalled to sometimes see products available on the Zon that I was not even able to order yet. But, don’t fret too much about that. Your direct sales will have more to do with building relationships.
Overall
While I personally think there are things the company can and should do to make it a better place for its consultants, I do still think the company makes a good product that is generally easy to sell.
Consultants make a 25% profit. That means that at a $1,000 party they earn $250 minus expenses. If you are looking for a fun way to make some side income, and you want to learn some independent sales techniques, I say go for it. But, if and when it becomes too difficult, make your exit and keep all that free product. Then, when you find you need some more or different Tupperware, you can order from a novice Tupperware consultant and make their day.
If you are a former Tupperware rep and have some suggestions for success, I would love to see them in the comments.
